It’s time to learn from the Operation Shelter sex abuse scandal that brought shame on Tyneside.

That’s the view of police, politicians and child abuse experts who are calling for answers in a bid to stop other women and girls becoming victims of vile predators.

Seventeen people have now been jailed for a total of more than 180 years for their roles in a sick plot to exploit some of Newcastle’s most vulnerable females for sex.

But after the successful convictions and lengthy sentences passed at court, questions are now being asked about how our city got to the point where more than 100 girls were potentially abused behind closed doors, and what can be done to prevent similar outrage in the future.

Det Supt Steve Barron

Det Supt Barron, led the investigation for Northumbria Police, said the UK needs an open debate about why there are some people in society that feel it is acceptable to sexually abuse others.

He said: “There needs to be a wider debate in society, that the police shouldn’t be leading, but need to be a part of. When it comes to prosecuting somebody for a criminal offence it’s the law and evidence that tells you what happens to them.

“But we need to have a debate about why we have got a society that is happy to abuse children. There are people who think it’s OK to groom and sexually abuse children and adults.”

Shelter was launched in January 2014 to target a network of offenders in Newcastle’s West End that were grooming and abusing vulnerable girls and young women.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how the troubled victims were lured to house parties known as ‘sessions’ where they were plied with drink and drugs and then passed round for sex.

It is feared the gang, of 17 men and one woman, could have harmed as many as 108 women and girls, all of which are now being supported.

The offenders are all Asian or Eastern European descent, while their victims were all white British, a pattern that mirrored similar cases in Rotherham, Rochdale and Oxford.

Before the gang were sentenced Prosecutor John Elvidge QC told the court that there was no evidence to suggest their crimes had been racially motivated and that victims were targeted because of their vulnerability and not because of their race.

But questions have been asked about whether there are elements of certain cultures or religions that might contribute to or motivate similar offending.

Shelter formed was part of Northumbria Police’s wider initiative to tackle a range of exploitation issues known as Operation Sanctuary.

Det Supt Barron explained that, while there was a clear racial profile in Shelter, the Sanctuary team has dealt with both complainants and perpetrators from a range of races and cultures, including white British offenders and victims from ethnic minorities.

And the experienced detective believes that placing too much focus on race risks ignoring the wider problem of sex abuse.

“Certain people would say there’s a theological reason for this. I don’t think there is,” he said. “You would struggle to think that people who behave this way have positive attitudes towards women and lots of people from lots of cultures have very poor attitudes to women, we need to have a debate about why that is.

“My personal thoughts are we can’t get away from the fact that in Shelter the profile you see is it tends to be white victims and Asian perpetrators. There’s definitely something to think about there. But it’s not as straight forward as that. In Sanctuary we have also convicted white British men of serious sexual offences.

“When you look at the ethnic minority population there is disproportionate levels of offending. But we run the risk of focusing on this one certain element of abuse to the detriment of the wider debate. I think the wider debate has to be around sexual abuse and why we have a society where children are in danger? A society where some dads are happy to abuse their own children. This is all part of that.”

Councillor Dipu Ahad

Councillor Dipu Ahad (Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

We revealed last month how one of the victims whose abuse was detailed in court was in the care of Newcastle City Council, while a further 49 of the 108 victims were known to social services.

A Serious Case Review (SCR) is now under way to determine what lessons need to be learned from what happened to the victims.

Coun Ahad represents the Elswick and Benwell ward, where much of the exploitation happened.

He said: “We have had a blame game. People have blamed the Muslim community, the council and the girls themselves. But what we need to ask now is, why were these girls left so vulnerable in the first place?

“We need to stop blaming and start learning from what’s happened now. I’m not saying the council has failed them, I’m not saying the police have failed them, we as a society have failed them. This is a wake-up call for Newcastle.

“The focus should be why were these girls and women so vulnerable in the first place, and that’s not just down to the council. These men were quite sophisticated and quite clever and they chose their victims carefully.

“But how have these women been left so open to this vile and evil grooming and how did these girls become the most vulnerable in society? These women were open to manipulation.

“You can’t describe these men as ‘thugs’. They are intelligent. They obviously thought they would get away with it. How can we learn from this to protect others in the future.”

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Coun Ahad believes the long-term problems of deprivation and poverty in Newcastle’s West End could have created a climate that made it easier for the groomers to operate.

“If you look at the West End of Newcastle you see poverty, you see littering. We have to look at society and what is happening in areas of deprivation. There needs to be a change in perceptions in society,” he said.

“Years ago Elswick used to be quite vibrant. But now their are so many cheap booze shops. There was a time when young men came from other areas of the city just to get cheap booze. These things are a temptation for people who haven’t really got much. When people are living in deprivation their escape is often street drinking, or betting.

“Wingrove Road North is very affluent and that’s just 10 minutes walk away. We are not even talking about a Metro ride.

“There’s never been any long term thinking for areas of deprivation like the West End. We need to see a change in society. These are really serious questions that we need to start asking.”

PCC Vera Baird

Northumbria’s Police and Crime Commissioner says her force has made protecting vulnerable people its number one priority.

But Ms Baird warned that officers can not keep everyone safe and she believes education must improve to enable young people to spot the signs of grooming earlier.

“If you think about online grooming and face-to-face grooming, it’s not going to be possible for the police to watch everyone and tackle everything,” she said.

“We need to teach young people to recognise what’s happening to them. What’s very important is that some of these girls didn’t know they were victims. They thought they were being befriended by nice people. It’s about getting that understanding that this is abuse.

“The Government has said there will be sex and relationships lessons in schools about what is a proper relationship. This needs to be accelerated as quickly as possible because it’s happening now.

“Sex offenders are naturally manipulative, but it’s just about getting that understanding that this is abuse. It is right that people are beginning to understand that. But it is up to all of us. We need the public to help.”

And Ms Baird also believes those attempting to tackle exploitation must not get hung-up on race.

“We have seen this in the Catholic Church and in children’s homes with people turning a blind eye,” she added. “It doesn’t matter what people look like or where they are from. When the police started this they didn’t know who it was and they just carried on. It wasn’t even a factor who these guys were, these people are criminals.

“I don’t know what motivated each and every one of them.”

MP Chi Onwurah

Newcastle Central MP, Chi Onwurah (Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

Newcastle Central MP Ms Onwurah believes the city must find ways to stop vulnerable young people slipping through the net. And she fears that post austerity cuts to youth services in the city may have contributed to the climate in which the Shelter abusers were able to operate.

“We need to close the gap so there aren’t vulnerable girls and women that aren’t on anyone’s radar,” she said. “That’s what safeguarding is about and that absolutely failed these young women and girls. We have absolutely got to make sure this doesn’t happen again. We have failed these girls and women.

She added: “I think it is true to say that if there were better provision of youth services in Newcastle and the North East it would be more difficult for evil persons to prey upon the vulnerable.

“Youth services have been slashed as a consequence of local authority cuts imposed by this Government.”